''Groupe de Combat 11'' of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

was founded on 1 November 1916, being formed by consolidating '' Escadrilles 12'', '' 31'', '' 48'', and '' 57''. The ''groupe'' was equipped with a melange of SPADs,

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

s, Sopwiths, and

Morane-Saulnier Aéroplanes Morane-Saulnier was a French aircraft manufacturing company formed in October 1911 by Raymond Saulnier and the Morane brothers, Léon and Robert. The company was taken over and diversified in the 1960s. History Model development ...

s when it was posted to ''V Armee'' of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in early February 1917. Within the month, it had moved to ''IV Armee''. In July 1917, it moved to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

as fighting intensified. ''Groupe de Combat 11'' was inducted into a larger unit, ''Escadre de Combat No. 2'', on 27 February 1918, under command of ''

Chef de Bataillon () is the seniormost non-commissioned officer rank in France and other Francophone countries. Unlike most other countries which use the old European rank system, France uses as its lowest ranking senior officer. While the rank functions of '' ...

'' Phillip Fequant. ''GC 11'' supported ''I Armee'' and ''III Arme'' from March onward. On 14 May 1918, ''Escadre de Combat No. 2'' was one of the units incorporated into the larger ''1er Division Aerienne''. However, on 28 May, ''GC 11'' was detached to support both ''IV Armee'' and ''V Armee''.

Commanding officers

* Capitaine Edouard Dusiegneur: January 1917 – 19 June 1918 * Capitaine Marcel Bonnevay: 20 June 1918

Notable personnel

* Armand de Turenne * Henri Languedoc * Pierre Dufaur de Gavardie *

Joseph M. X. de Sévin Major General Joseph Marie Xavier de Sévin (10 March 1894 – 7 November 1963) began his military career as a World War I flying ace credited with twelve confirmed aerial victories,The Aerodrome websitRetrieved on 26 March 2010. as well as thirtee ...

* Lieutenant Jacques Ortoli *

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

Georges Blanc Georges Blanc (; born 2 January 1943 in Bourg-en-Bresse in the department of Ain) is a French chef and restaurateur, with two Michelin stars and four toques from the guide Gault et Millau. Private life Georges Blanc is the son of Jean and Pa ...

* ''Sous Lieutenant'' Jules Covin * ''Sous Lieutenant'' François Portron

References

;Bibliography * Military units and formations of the French Air and Space Force {{France-mil-unit-stub